Five years of planning have finally come to fruition for the Turangi community with the building of its new Lockwood health centre by Peter Richards Builders (PRB) Taupo.
The Turangi community has been in need of a good health centre for years. Due to the lack of space and the state of the current facilities, they have had a lot of trouble keeping a medical practitioner in the area for more than a year or two. “They just didn’t have the resources or the space for it,” according to PRB business manager Lance Eccles.
So the whole community breathed a collective sigh of relief when the PRB team took on the challenge, and planning began to build the new centre. However, for the team it was the beginning of a project that offered no end of unique challenges, all the way from the fundraising stages through to concepts and fit-out.
Not only did the project require a huge amount of fine detail and specifications, the PRB team also had to cut through a huge wall of red tape to get where they are today, with 60 pages of specifications required to meet strict building regulations.
The site also needed to be blessed prior to work commencing by the local Ngati Turangitukua Iwi due to its location.
Some of the building specifications are:
• 910 sq m floor area
• 1500 metres of bearers
• 375 piles
• 2500 metres of joists
• 330 tanalised plywood flooring sheets
• 163 trusses, some as long as 13 metres
• 4km of wiring
• 120 minute fire rating on boundary walls
• Eight tenants, all with individual fit-out.
So it was with great pride (and relief) that Peter Richards was asked to “turn the first piece of turf” for the project in January this year. The centre is due to open in September this year, so watch this space for one very happy client.
